keep one's shirt on

verb

(Usually in the imperative) Stop being impatient; calm down.

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Meanings

verbkeep one's shirt on (third-person singular simple present keeps one's shirt on, present participle keeping one's shirt on, simple past and past participle kept one's shirt on)

present singular third person keeps one's shirt on · participle present keeping one's shirt on · participle past kept one's shirt on · past kept one's shirt on

  1. informal(Usually in the imperative) Stop being impatient; calm down.

    'Okay, okay. Ah'll ketch da cab when he comes back over da Causeway, else at Clearwater. Okay, okay. Keep yo shirt on. Ah ain't done nuthen wrong.'

    1954, Ian Fleming, “The Everglades”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 124

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
keep one's hair on

Translations

Danish tag det nu roligt
  • tag det nu roligtcalm down
Cite this entry
APA

keep one's shirt on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20one's%20shirt%20on

MLA

“keep one's shirt on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20one's%20shirt%20on. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “keep one's shirt on,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20one's%20shirt%20on.

Source: keep one's shirt on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.